Emotional Cinema

Final Website

2007-12-13T12:30:00.001-08:00

Click on the picture to take you to our homepage!

Incredible

2007-12-08T13:19:00.000-08:00

The Incredibles

The opening sequence of this movie has incredible face gesture and expression! Elastigirl speaks out the side of her mouth.
Talk about detail.

Faces of Guitar Hero

2007-12-07T20:47:00.000-08:00

Guitar Hero

I stumbled across this on the net today. How appropriate!!!

The artwork of Ari Pescovitz:

Are video games and interactive media the future of cinema?
I think so!

Psycho

2007-12-04T16:21:00.000-08:00

"Dialogue should simply be a sound among other sounds, just something that comes out of the mouths of people whose eyes tell the story in visual terms." - Alfred Hitchcock

In the Beginning

2007-12-01T23:21:00.000-08:00

The Lord of the Rings (a few years old, but pivotal to the history of cinematic visual effects.

Andy Serkis (Gollum) writes:

I had an emotional root to that sound. For me, it is where his pain is trapped. That emotional memory is trapped in that part of his body, his throat. In just doing the voice, I immediately got into the physicality of Gollum and embodied the part as I would if I were playing it for real.

Peter Jackson adds:

Serkis' performance was so strong as Gollum that the initial digital character has evolved throughout the production to be more like the actor. Gollum is probably the most actor-driven digital creature that has ever been used in a film before

Watch Andy Serkis perform as Gollum (not the best quality):

On Beowulf

2007-12-01T21:33:00.000-08:00

How can we have a blog on Face Gestures and Emotional Resonance without mentioning Beowulf?

Ehhhh. Blah blah blah. We’ve heard it already. But, like I said, we can’t not talk about it. Instead of rehashing the argument, I’ve picked a few key quotes from the blogger community:

Ralph Eggleston, Artistic Director for The Incredibles says:

In my opinion it's always been a fallacy, the notion that human characters have to look photo-realistic in CG. You can do so much more with stylized human characters. Audiences innately know how humans move and gravity works, so if a human character doesn't feel right, they'll feel something's wrong. But if the weight works for stylized characters, the audience doesn't question it.

And, the General Public writes:

*Okay, so maybe I'm just a geek cinephile but it totally looks like CGI to me - it's the lack of emotion in the eyes, the stiff appendages and the rubberized body motions that give it away so easily. However, that said, the technology has come a long way and it still looks pretty darn fantastico*

*I hate this type of lazy film making. It gets big stars on the cheap so they don't have to work too many days. Then a computer does the rest. No real investment in actors at least trying to get into character (any wrong expression can be fixed by the computer guy) and no real sets. It's lazy and an insult to ones intelligence*

*Animated Angelina HOT...Buuut. She's also animated, which defeats the purpose of daydreaming in my book. Why go thru all the trouble for the animation technique when you can just shoot live-action. Obviously it's cheaper, but it kinda takes the magic out of the movies*

Why go through the trouble? Just because...we can. Thomas Kang, our guest speaker, elaborates:

Are You Ready?

2007-12-01T21:04:00.001-08:00

Norma Desmond sure is (from Sunset Blvd.)

Where would Hollywood be without the close-up? Dave dares to ask during our seminar panel, and Professor Marsha Kinder responds:

The Close-Up

2007-12-01T20:47:00.000-08:00

Birth of a Nation:

Ivan the Terrible, Part 1:

Once Upon a Time in the West:

Persona:

The Shining:

Ratatouille:

Animated Faces

2007-11-29T19:04:00.000-08:00

(courtesy of Gabriel)

It's All in the Eyes

2007-11-25T13:13:00.000-08:00

The National Film Board of Canada presents the stop-motion animated film, Madame Tutli-Putli:

The special visual effects were produced in collaboration with acclaimed portrait artist Jason Walker. The puppet eye effects demonstrate a first in the field of animation: a seamless, unnerving integration of human and puppet performance. This innovative process, created by Walker for the film, required meticulous precision and involved the placement of real human eyes onto individual puppets. For each scene, the puppet's animation was analyzed and corresponding human facial expressions were filmed in order to match the puppet's motion. The eye performances required long rehearsal time, great patience and precise notes. Once the live-action eyes were filmed, Walker then individually positioned, digitally scaled, painted and re-timed the footage for nuance and believability of gesture. The extraordinary result of this process is a new kind of puppet: one with the soul and memories of a living being.

Before & After (From Walker's website):

The Trailer:

No Need for Dialog

2007-11-16T08:43:00.001-08:00

Norma Desmond agrees:

From Sunset Blvd.:

Faced With Death

2007-11-15T18:09:00.001-08:00

The Long Good Friday:

Wow.

I haven't even seen this movie, but the ending has incredible emotion. It's not told through dialog, but rather it's told through close-ups! Bob Hoskins' face tells it all.

Here it is:

Persona, 1966

2007-11-14T12:57:00.002-08:00

From Strictly Film School:

Ingmar Bergman uses minimal composition and extremely tight close-ups to illustrate the theme of psychological deconstruction. Note the prevalent use of single camera shots throughout the duration of a scene. The lack of camera movement forces us to study the characters' faces. Persona, after all, as the title suggests, is not about who the person actually is, but the different identities, or facades, that the person projects. Figuratively, Elisabeth Vogler, having played the role of celebrity, wife, and mother, has decided to abandon her persona and walk off the stage. A variation on the idea of duality provides an essential ingredient to the plot development. The themes of experience, children, and romantic relationships take on very different meanings for the two women. Alma seems to covet what Elisabeth has, but she has deliberately chosen other paths. Note the monologue that is shown twice: one showing a close-up of Alma, and the other of Elisabeth. It is a scene about regret, frustration, and denial. The effect illustrates how different, and yet similar, these two women are... and how cruel and destructive the human will can be.

Here is the clip from the movie:

Reading the Face

2007-10-30T12:36:00.000-07:00

Here is a clip from Ingmar Bergman's Cries and Whispers:

Faces & Animation

2007-10-24T14:54:00.000-07:00

Animation: Check
Faces: Check
Emotion: Check
Robot: Check

This film, Dollface, has it all. It's made by USC undergrad, Andy Huang. Check it out:

Warhol's Screen Tests

2007-10-19T18:30:00.000-07:00

From the Warhol Organization:

Warhol’s Screen Tests are revealing portraits of hundreds of different individuals, shot between 1963 and 1966. When asked to pose, subjects were lit and filmed by Warhol’s stationary 16mm Bolex camera on silent, black and white, 100-foot rolls of film. Each Screen Test is exactly the same length, lasting only as long as the roll of film. The standard formula of subject and camera remaining almost motionless for the duration of the film, results in a “living portrait.”

Edie Sedgewick's Screen test:

Salvador Dali's (rephotographed):

It's All in the Eyes

2007-10-18T17:18:00.001-07:00

According to Disney (click to enlarge):

The Passion of Joan of Arc

2007-10-07T19:22:00.000-07:00

The Passion of Joan of Arc is a silent film directed by Carl Dreyer in 1928. Shot mostly in close-ups (and without makeup), Dreyer believed that the "face was the window to the content of the soul."

Roger Ebert writes:

Why did Dreyer fragment his space, disorient the visual sense and shoot in closeup? I think he wanted to avoid the picturesque temptations of a historical drama. There is no scenery here, aside from walls and arches. Nothing was put in to look pretty. You do not leave discussing the costumes (although they are all authentic). The emphasis on the faces insists that these very people did what they did. Dreyer strips the church court of its ritual and righteousness and betrays its members as fleshy hypocrites in the pay of the British; their narrow eyes and mean mouths assault Joan's sanctity.

To modern audiences, raised on films where emotion is conveyed by dialogue and action more than by faces, a film like ``The Passion of Joan of Arc'' is an unsettling experience--so intimate we fear we will discover more secrets than we desire. Our sympathy is engaged so powerfully with Joan that Dreyer's visual methods--his angles, his cutting, his closeups--don't play like stylistic choices, but like the fragments of Joan's experience

Speaking of Emotional Robots

2007-10-07T18:18:00.000-07:00

Have you seen Chris Cunningham's Bjork video? The video was banned from MTV (back when they played videos) for its suggestive content.

Programing Emotions

2007-10-05T18:39:00.000-07:00

Last week we saw the results of programmers trying to teach a robot grace and coordination on the dance floor. Today I present to you the result of programmers trying to teach a robot emotions.

An Excerpt From Will Eisners' Graphic Storytelling-

2007-10-03T15:48:00.000-07:00

These are good examples of displaying emotion through gesture as well as how 'delivery' of the message indicates the emotion behind it.

To start, we will look at gesture:

And now how the delivery of a message will completely alter the emotion behind it:

Repeating Ourselves

2007-10-02T22:13:00.000-07:00

Since the dawn of ages man has communicated through drawings and paintings. In the early cave paintings we find not only depictions of the surroundings and the animal life, but also mainly of people. It is interesting that we go to big efforts to recreate what we see and how we see ourselves in order to transcend, at least by leaving a footprint of our existence.

Through the thousands of years that followed this trend continued and we became much more sophisticated in documenting those facts or records of our lives.

We have since been repeating the same motions, repeating the act of projecting our thoughts, ideas and self image into all sorts of medium like rock frescos, sculpture, print, photography. We endlessly reproduce the human form in many ways as if to become inmortal through the expression of these forms. As if we would live forever through these time enduring stone impressions of ourselves.

In a way, facial expression and emotions could be considered the original sin, the apple that had us cast from eden. For facial expression was the precursor of communication and gave way to the more sophisticated methods of communication like language and writing. It is not by chance then that all art forms are filled with endless iterations of the human form, especially the face.

Even today we continue to observe this trend as we strive to reproduce the face with extreme realism for films, commercials, tv, etc... You could say that some consider the human face to be the holy grail of art.

Mario's Close-up

2007-10-01T19:51:00.000-07:00

Achmed & IPOD

2007-09-26T08:51:00.000-07:00

*sidenote* Do you think these IPOD commercials were influenced by Prince Achmed?

No Need for Faces...

2007-09-25T15:51:00.000-07:00

The pictures pretty much speak for themselves. These are stills taken from the animation feature entitled 'Prince Achmed' by Lotte Reiniger. This amazing animation uses only cutout silhouettes and yet effectively portrays complex emotions through the movement and interactions of the characters.

Face Robot

2007-09-25T13:58:00.001-07:00

Face Robot is a CGI/Motion Capture software used for animating faces.

Face Robot simplifies the complex process of preparing the face for animation by creating organic skin movement as you animate. As a result, artists have extremely precise control over their characters and are able to realize lifelike face animation more quickly and efficiently.

Thomas Kang, the chief architect of the program, will be presenting the software and his research during our seminar panel on October 10th (he also happens to be my 3D/Softimage professor this semester).

Check out these demos:

As motion capture technology becomes increasingly efficient and affordable, we're seeing more and more directors abandon big-budget live-action films in favor of animation, most notably, Robert Zemeckis.

Will CGI eventually replace fussy actors in Hollywood?

A comment on Elective Physiognomies

2007-09-24T20:56:00.000-07:00

It is evident in the media that there is a certain appearance and behavior associated with certain types of characters. In a medium that does not have the luxury of time (anywhere from a 10 second commercial spot to a 2 hour feature film), the contributors of our media do not have time for character building. They have a message or story they want to portray and they need to make it as easy on their audience s possible.- to create a 'comfortable fiction'. Using a stereotype for characters can be an easy way to get an idea across, however, can lead to negative results. In line with mass media theories, Media Influence discusses the ways in which the media effects our perception of the world around us and eachother. To attribute certain physical characteristics to specific types of characters can, and evidently already does, cause a prejudice of people in our minds and alters how we perceive others and ourselves.

Even though I feel I am a little off topic here (sorry guys) just wanted to comment on it.

Communication and Evolution

2007-09-19T13:27:00.000-07:00

I believe that facial expression is primordially about communication. Even though there is strong correlation between facial expression and emotion, some people suppress the facial expressions from their emotions, maybe because they don't want others to know how they feel or because they are unable of externalizing their emotions, so could say that facial expression is the tool to communicate those emotions.

When we are born we are received by our mother's smile, and after that we go through constant reinforcement of those facial expressions and emotions.

We create neural connections that hardwire the relationship between an emotion and its correspondent facial expression. We learn what it is to smile and what it means, and to frown, and every other expression.

I believe facial expression is an advanced tool of communication developed through evolution, only possessed by the more evolved organisms, or some might argue that only by humans.

You be the judge of whether animals are capable of emotions and of communicating them through facial expression:

It is also interesting that facial expression is so primordial that we only need very few cues to recognize something as a face. It makes sense then that we see "faces in the clouds" or that we might see a rock and think that it resembles George Washington or somebody that is very characteristic. We can see this principle applied to character design for example:

It is also interesting to note that even though we can recognize such simple things as faces, facial expressions can be extremely complex. The Mona Lisa is a prime example of how facial expression can be used to convey emotions that are much more complex than anger or happiness.

Elective Physiognomies

2007-09-14T21:06:00.000-07:00

Kathy sent me the link to this artist named, John Tonkin.
On his interactive website, he explores Elective Physiognomies:

Physiognomy is the reading of a person's character from the physical features of their face. Historically physiognomical studies consisted of drawings of faces accompanied by a written analysis.

Tonkin's research explores the question of cultural, psychological, and genetic identity. On Tonkin's website, you can take a survey, which allows you to pick from a line-up of 5 digitally manipulated versions of the artist's face and assign them character attributes based on their physical features. It's a fun survey.

Perhaps animators should study facial structure and physiognomy in order to create believable characters. For example, if our character is shy, will they look a certain way? Does a shy person have petite features? Artists should be aware of how an audience will perceive their characters in order to effectively communicate their ideas.

Based on Tonkin's survey, I decided to compile a physiognomical (?) analysis of my own, only I picked from a cartoon line-up:

Intelligent:

Least Intelligent:

Introverted:

Least Introverted:

Trustworthy:

Least Trustworthy:

Emotional Rejects

2007-09-12T16:55:00.000-07:00

Emotions are something film makers have tried to control in their viewers for years. Using the powers of emotional resonance and emotional contagions they can make you feel a certain way about a certain character or experience an emotional reaction to an on screen event.

One of the directors that i relate most to being able to totally mess with their audiences emotions is Rob Zombie. The scene that best shows his exceptional skill is the final scene in 'The Devil's Rejects'. Throughout the whole movie you're witnessing the outrageously violent acts of the main characters building up emotional hatred towards them, but the final scene is shot in such a way that most viewers end up being tricked in to feeling sorry and rooting for the murderers.

Less is more

2007-09-12T15:24:00.000-07:00

The human face is very nuanced indeed. Can you recognize which smiles are genuine and which are fake?

Regarding Facial Expressions of Emotion

2007-09-12T14:34:00.001-07:00

Was just thinking about how emotion is expressed through one's face and whether or not it is a universally understood action. The following evidence is based on Facial Expressions of Emotion: An Old Controversy and New Findings (Elkman, P. et al). I summarized it:

One debate among scholars, mainly in the social sciences, is whether facial gestures are emotion specific and inherent in our physiology, or whether they are socially learned and culturally variable. From about 1920 to the 1960s, the later was the popular notion and it was theorized that there was no fixed relation between making an expression and what it stood to signify. However, in the 70s, as a result of further exploration into study of the topic, it became more evident that, cross-culturally, the expressions made with the face can be interpreted as expressing certain types of emotion. Most studies analyzed gestures expressing enjoyment, anger, fear, sadness, disgust and surprise.

There was also concern with the difference between emotion-induced expression and a management of expressions in social context. Some studies between Americans and Japanese participants showed the same basic expressions induced by emotion, but that the expressions that were induced in a social context seemed to be more culturally influenced. For example, according to the study cited by Ekman, Japanese participants masked negative expressions with a smile more often than Americans when in the company of others.

The article also touches on the muscles in the face used to create each expression and the physiologically reactions measured from each facial gesture. It is promoted in this argument that there is a central connection between the facial muscles used and other areas in the brain directing the physiological changes that occur during emotion. It was noted that when emotion was 'faked' that certain muscles in the face that worked during emotion-induced gesture, did not move.

So just wondering your thoughts on this. I am thinking that more research and understanding must be done in this area of human expression and muscular/physiological reaction before a computer can come close to simulating it. Maybe, maybe not?

*UPDATE*
Dr. William McClure discusses the emotional development of the brain during our seminar panel:

Kuleshov Effect

2007-09-12T14:13:00.000-07:00

Concerning emotional resonance in cinema the Kuleshov Effect is an important concept. It rests on the theory of montage and the effect that film editing has on evoking emotions from a viewer. It is not simply the content of a scene or the expression on the character's face, but the way in which images are cut together that can induce a feeling from the audience.

His original experiment used shots of the face of actor Ivan Mozzhukhin, in which the actor's expression did not change. Edited next to shots of different items he appeared to be 'looking at', (a bowl of soup, a girl and a coffin) the emotion the character was feeling was interpreted in terms of hunger, desire or grief. Although I was not able to find any original photos from the Kuleshov experiment, here is an example of this effect found on You Tube:

It's All in the Eyes

2007-09-09T13:24:00.002-07:00

Although digital technology is growing more sophisticated, 3D artists still struggle to create believable depth within their characters. As 3d becomes more realistic and complex, do the characters lose their general/universal appeal? Can the problem be fixed by increasing technology and motion capture abilities?

Charlie Brown only has two dots for eyes.

Polar Express and the Uncanny Valley

Adam Baroody , a character animator and technical director, addresses these issues on his webpage. He believes that the eyes are the window to the soul; therefore they need more attention in order to convey life. In the past animators have spent most of their time on gesture and movement but haven't devoted as much time to studying the eyeball and how it moves (when they're sad, how tears form, etc...). Any thoughts?

*UPDATE*
Thomas Kang answers these questions during our panel:

From Fine Art to Cinema

2007-09-09T12:45:00.000-07:00

Face Gestures:

DaVinci

Caravagio

Kollwitz

Hockney

The Passion of Joan of Arc

Psycho

The Godfather

The Incredibles

Introduction

2007-09-05T17:02:00.001-07:00

Welcome to our USC Animation seminar website and blog!

Contributers:
Dave Damant
Steven Day
Deborah Allison
Diana Reichenbach
Gabriel Soto Campa

Topic:
Facial Gesture, Emotional Resonance through animation and cinema

Objective:
The purpose of this blog is to provide an academic, professional, and artistic forum for research in the field of animation. We've used this space to discuss our ideas and post our work.

Guest Speakers:
On October 10th, we moderated a panel featuring:

Dr. William McClure
Professor Marsha Kinder
Thomas Kang

*Please Note: We've updated many of these blog posts to include relevant clips from our panel discussion*

Enjoy!